Blog
2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part X)
An update on the efforts to connect #2014yearfp with the national consciousness: Approximately 25 people attended our most recent Affordable Care Act (ACA) town hall. Michael Madsen of the Coffee Garden, an independent shop, hosted it and co-promoted it with Bonnie London from the local chapter of Organizing for Action and Michael Boyd of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association. The City of Sacramento will present and pass a resolution declaring 2014 the Year of the Family Physician to the public on June 11th. Noah Painter, District 7...
read moreYou’re Choosing Family Medicine!? Absolutely.
As I round out my 3rd year of medical school I, along with my classmates, should be feeling the excitement of choosing the specialty that we will spend the rest of our lives practicing. Planning auditions, finding mentors, and growing into the physicians we so fervently want to be. Unfortunately, this excitement has been tempered recently, as I have been experiencing less-than enthusiastic support from attending physicians who believe that there is a better choice of specialty out there for aspiring doctors. More often now than earlier in...
read moreClinical Practice: Leadership Practice
Greetings from San Francisco, where I am meeting with fellow California Academy of Family Physicians #FMRevolution-aries! Lately, I have been awash in thoughts about family medicine and leadership (blame it in part on my participation in the California HealthCare Foundation Health Care Leadership Program). We are, after all, at a historic juncture in redefining how to deliver health care to more people given that health care reform is now law. Because health care delivery is still mostly a local enterprise, we physicians face tremendous...
read more2013 AAFP NCSC: Being There and Giving a Damn
Hard to believe but it has been almost exactly one year since the 2012 American Academy of Family Physicians‘ National Conference of Special Constituencies. I had the privilege of serving as the Convener, or conference chair, and we all had the privilege of hearing from Dr. G. Gayle Stephens, one of the original Family Medicine Revolution-aries. During his keynote, Dr. Stephens reminded us of 3 essential values to guide our lives as family physicians: Being there: Above all, our patients want to know that we will be there for them when they...
read more2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part IX)
Since 1927, Time Magazine has recognized a person, group, or entity, who or which “most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.” Previous concept designees have included the Middle Americans, American Women, the computer and the Endangered Earth. Let us look ahead to 2014 and delineate why the family physician is the clear choice for this distinction. With further implementation of the Affordable Care Act, 30 million people will be eligible to purchase health insurance. By...
read more2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part VIII)
In mid-February, I received an e-mail from Larry Bauer, CEO for the Family Medicine Education Consortium [FMEC], Inc. FMEC focuses on improving healthcare through the advocacy and advancement of family medicine. Their members stretch from Maine to Florida and include AAFP state chapters, hospitals, primary care associations, and family medicine residencies. He wanted to collaborate regarding #2014yearfp and to take mutual inventory of our resources and directions. The e-mail from Larry was encouraging for a multitude of reasons. My Don...
read more2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part VII)
So far, we have conducted two town hall hot spots discussing the Affordable Care Act [ACA]. Akin to Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, it was the worst of meetings and it was the best of meetings. The first one was held in an independent coffee shop on the outskirts of downtown Sacramento. The owner was kind enough to set aside a table for us. However, I had failed to engage him on the purpose and scope of the meeting. I distributed flyers, posted on Facebook and Twitter, and e-mailed civic organizations. Still, my efforts lacked...
read more2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part VI)
by Ronald L. Fong, MD, MPH I have attached a photo of the bumper sticker we printed for #2014yearfp. Contact me and I will send you one. The sticker is designed for us to engage with others. Movement organizers speak of recruitment to advance the cause. I would rather focus on identification instead. When we identify with people, we seek to understand their background and aspirations. Recruitment marginalizes individuals to the next number or indistinguishable fodder. We want people to join us, not merely to follow us. Use the bumper...
read more2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part V)
by Ronald L. Fong, MD, MPH In colonial times, the local tavern served as a gathering place for the community to discuss politics. Some taverns functioned as makeshift post offices or local government offices. The modern day descendent of the tavern is the coffee shop. Coffee shops have captured the third space appeal, where people bond outside of work and home. To ingratiate themselves with their service community, coffee shops often sponsor civic forums, such as hosting local musicians and poets on open mike nights. To garner support for...
read more2014: Year of the Family Physician (Part IV)
by Ronald L. Fong, MD, MPH In a previous blog, I discussed the “what,” “how,” and “why” of a movement. I neglected to include the “who” in a movement. Although I envision every profession and discipline contributing to #2014yearfp, family physicians will have to plant the seeds. I hope you will incorporate enterprise farmer into your vast and varied identities. Indeed, take inventory of your functions and roles. As a physician, you are: obstetrician, pediatrician, internist, psychiatrist, hospitalist, and geriatrician. As a health care...
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